Before we talk about your Egypt bucket list, you should know that this page may contain affiliate links. This means, at no additional cost to you, I may receive a small commission if you purchase something through a link. I only give product recommendations for things I enjoy. Please feel free to check out my full policy/disclaimers!

Egypt should be on everyone’s bucket list. There’s intrigue in the Pyramids and magnificence in the relics. Egypt is so rich with history, I cannot even begin to explain it all in a simple blog post. It is much better seen in person.

You might be wondering, is Egypt safe? Well having finally gotten the opportunity to visit, I can say absolutely! There are some areas that aren’t safe but all of the places listed in this post are safe to visit in 2019. If you actually look at the travel advisories, the area surrounding the Nile is excluded from the danger zones. The turmoil of recent years has settled and Egypt is ready to welcome back the millions that used to gaze at the temples in awe. The idea of Egypt has been with me since childhood and nothing about my trip disappointed.

Intrepid Travel Egypt Experience tour matched almost everything that we wanted to do. Plus, we were able to extend our trip a little to finish off the rest of the things we were missing.

If you’re thinking about doing a tour of Egypt, make sure that it includes all of these stops. Or, at least gives you the option to add them!

Egypt Bucket List

The Great Pyramids of Giza & The Sphinx

Do I even need to say it? You cannot go all the way to Egypt and not see the Great Pyramids and the Sphinx. It is breathtaking. For an extra 300 EGP, you can go inside of one of the Pyramids. For me, this was well worth it. However, it can be a little bit cramped and hard on the knees.

This still doesn’t feel real.

The Egyptian Museum

The Egyptian Museum has thousands of Egyptian relics. They recently built a new location closer to the Pyramids so at the time we visited not everything was there as some had been moved. However, the collection was so impressive I don’t even know what we would have missed. The Mummy Rooms are also well worth paying to see. At one point during the conflict, looters tried to hit the museum. The response? All of the Egyptian tour guides banded together and went down to the museum to protect the relics. How amazing is that passion for your history?

Luxor Temple

Luxor Temple was not an included cost in our Intrepid tour; however, we opted to visit it and were not disappointed. No matter how many temples we’ve saw on this trip they never got less impressive.

Luxor Temple.

Hot Air Balloon over the Valley of Kings/Luxor

While you’re in Luxor, do a hot air balloon. Not every tour includes this (Intrepid Travel Get on it!). But the views are unapparelled.

Alexandria Library

The Alexandria Library is more than just a library. It is one of the largest in the world and has its own little museum inside.

Philae Temple

Philae Temple was moved from its original location but you wouldn’t know that by looking at it. Its current location has you transported via boat to its new island home.

Perk of going to Egypt right now? No other tourists in your photos.

Valley of the Kings

Taking pictures inside the tombs does cost a fee. However, this is to discourage everyone from doing it and in the long run helps preserve the tombs and temples. You will be amazed at how much original colour has preserved through time.

Abu Simbel

Abu Simbel is one of those places that will take your breath away. There is an extra fee to take pictures inside of the temple. As there are for most temples in Egypt.

Tiny little me, massive landmark.

Saqqarra & Memphis

Also known as the Step Pyramid. Saqqarra is a pyramid in a different style.

10. Hatchepsut temple

Hatchepsut was a bad ass woman. No Egypt bucket list is complete without learning about her history.

Cairo Citadel

This is a UNESCO World Hertitage Site and it is easy to see why. The fortress is home to three mosques and four museums.

Karnak Temple

Luxor is regarded as one of the world’s largest open-air museums. Karnak Temple is one of the reasons why.

Sail a Felucca on the Nile

This is a relaxing way to spend time on The Nile.

Felucca the Nile

Dendera Temple

This was our favourite temple. The blues are so well-preserved, it’s mind-blowing.

Temple of Kom Ombo

While we didn’t get to see any Nile Crocodiles, the temple was still neat. Plus, there is a mummified crocodile museum to behold.

Grand Bazaar Khan el Khalili

Barter to your heart’s content. Even if you don’t want to purchase something, have a wander and let the hustle and bustle assail your senses.

I love a market.

Survive a Street Crossing in Cairo

Seriously, its wild. I would say it is the only time I felt unsafe in my entire trip in Egypt. You essentially play frogger with the traffic.

Bent Pyramid

The Bent Pyramid was a design flaw. This is why you get an architect.

Note: I did not list Edfu Temple here. While, the pictures I’ve seen are lovely, Edfu is not endorsed by Intrepid. The reason is this, the animals that are used to transport you there are treated poorly. As such, Intrepid is encouraging travellers to hit the locals in the only place it hurts- the wallet. I do not condone animal abuse and as such, we skipped it. This is another reason that I like Intrepid.

Safety:

At no time in our tour or solo days did we feel unsafe. Yes, there were security checkpoints for museums and landmarks (There would be anywhere else too). Many hotels also had these checkpoints as well.

Egypt has tourism police. Their job is to ensure the safety of the tourists. As our guide explained, with the tours, the police keep track of who is where and doing what. They then place plain-clothed officers at the sites in accordance. But, you wouldn’t even know that your safety is being monitored.

Nothing looks unsafe and nothing ever feels unsafe.

The one thing I would note is that, tourism was one of Egypt’s biggest sources of income. So, the downturn of tourism, has caused a lot of hard times for the people. We found that people were often more desperate and pushier to make sales. At landmarks such as temples, locals would follow us around offering unsolicited advice about where to look and then insisting that we pay them. It was sometimes hard to escape the demands for unsolicited tourism services.

At one temple, we had a man follow us around for way too long trying to guide us. Unfortunately, it did dampen the experience a little because he wouldn’t leave us alone and we did not want to pay him to point out things that we were already looking at anyway.

Hopefully, these practices will stop once tourism goes up.

The flipside is that people were excited to see us! We had numerous requests for locals to take pictures with us or parents wanting their kids to take photos with us. Now normally, my pickpocketing radar would be up but that never happened. As far as I could tell it was a genuine interest.

Final Thoughts:

It has been over a year since I went to Egypt and I still can’t believe I’ve been there. It is like a dream come true that still feels like a dream. Travelling Egypt was one of the best trips I have ever taken. I’m pleased to say that I crossed off almost everything on my Egypt bucket list. The only things that I missed were some of things that fall in the conflict zones. But, I’ll be back Egypt.

This was my partner’s first time leaving the continent of North America (He started big). This trip was also our first adventure as a couple. But it was amazing getting to experience Egypt together.

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This page may contain affiliate links. This means, at no additional cost to you, I may receive a small commission if you purchase something through a link. I only give product recommendations for things I enjoy. Please feel free to check out my full policy/disclaimers!

Las Vegas is home to socially acceptable debauchery and that is why I love it. You can drink for “free” for hours if you gamble (Which I always do). Whether it is your first time, or you are a frequent visitor, this guide contains some pointers for making the most of your time. Even if you are not a gambler or a drinker, there are other things to do in Las Vegas.

If you play your cards right, Vegas is a world of adventure.

The Basics

Uber is readily available in Vegas. Also, the airport is located super close to the southern end of the strip so depending on where you’re staying a cab might not be obscenely expensive (But cabs often are). In Las Vegas, it is illegal for taxis to pick you up off the streets so if you need a cab just walk over to the nearest hotel taxi line. They now have separate lines for taxis. Another option for getting around cheaply is the bus or the tram. Both will stop at many hotels along the strip.

Go with friends of similar mindset. If you want to party and the persons you’re with do not, the trip will not meet your expectations. This has happened to myself and many other people that I know. Make sure that everyone is on the same page or that your group is big enough to balance out this effect.

The strip is generally safe but my friend did have all of her cash and her id stolen from her purse in a Las Vegas club. Be mindful of your belongings.

If you go in the summer, it will be very hot! I went for Fourth of July weekend and the temperature hit 40 degrees celsius. Drink lots of water and do not spend too much time in direct sunlight. Heat stroke will ruin your trip!

Las Vegas presents a stellar firework show for Independence Day. Casinos rein down fireworks from their rooftops. Or so we hear, we did not hydrate and drank in the sun. Exhausted, we thought we would take a power nap in time for the fireworks. Devastatingly, we missed the entire display. I’m still not over this tragedy and it has been three years. Do better than us!

The dehydrating effects of alcohol typically cause hangovers. Bring a re-usable water bottle with you (Like one of these ones from Camelbak. It is much cheaper than buying plastic water bottles). But if you forget to bring one, buy water bottles from the drug stores (The casino stores tend to cost more), and place this beside your bed. There are CVSs and Walgreens everywhere for basic drug store needs. If you’re going to Vegas to drink, you will need it. I have never actually drank Gatorade for a workout, its role in my life is strictly limited to drinking recovery. Chips are always a win.

Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Nevada sign.

Choosing a Place to Stay

Are you going to Vegas to gamble? Maybe do other Vegas activities? Or do you want to hit up the Las Vegas clubs? These are some things to consider when picking a hotel. The more south on the strip you go, the closer you will be to some of the bigger name clubs in Vegas (Omnia in Ceasar’s Palace and Hakkasan in MGM Grand often feature bigger name DJs). I’ve heard that the closer you get to Fremont street, which is more northern strip, the gambling odds get better. I also have noticed that the hotels get a bit cheaper. Anywhere you stay there will be alcohol and casinos available.

I’ve stayed in the Stratosphere, Monte Carlo (undergoing a name change but located next to the new T-Mobile arena) and New York New York. Personally, I like to stay somewhere different every time. The Stratosphere was an average of $10 USD Uber to both Fremont Street and New York New York. Pro Tip: Staying in the Stratosphere will get you a discount on the rides and the jump off the building. I am royally bitter that I did not take advantage of this during my stay.

Moving a block or two off of the strip will see a drop in prices and Vegas does have hostels. Generally, I do not care where I sleep because I’m not awake when I’m there. Las Vegas is the only place that I tend to be pickier because I feel like the seedy hotels are probably extra seedy here. Read reviews and think about what you want to see.

A semi-preserved sign from a former Las Vegas hotel.

Gambling Tips

The number one gambling rule that everyone should follow is: Only play with what you are comfortable losing. The odds are never in your favour.

If you double up your money, it could be a good time to walk away. Often when I gamble, if I play $20, and manage to win more than that, I will set aside $20 worth of chips and play off of winnings so that I’m never truly behind. Sadly, this doesn’t always work out but I aim to at least be even. A push is better than a loss.

Get cash before you visit the city! The ATM fees inside casinos can be as high as $10 USD a hit. This is also why I only bring the amount of cash that I am willing to lose gambling out with me. Once my budget is lost (it almost always will be), it is HIGHLY unlikely that I will be willing to pay $10 USD to get another $60 for the night.

It can be a good idea to familiarize yourself with the rules before your trip. I mostly only stick to blackjack because it is what I enjoy the most and am most familiar with.

That being said, I’ve found that the dealers will help you out if you aren’t sure what to do next.

Once my friend and I played a game deceptively similar to blackjack that was not in fact blackjack. Our dealer told us what we should do and we won! Jackpot baby!!**$25

Something that I’ve gotten in a habit of doing is keeping a $1 chip from all of the casinos I visit. While this does not help with my minimalist ideations, it does help with my memories of places visited.

Just call me Lady Luck… Kidding, I have sporadic luck.

Other Things to do in Las Vegas:

Believe it or not, there is more to Las Vegas than drinking and gambling. I know, I was shocked too.

The super cool Neon Sign museum is worth checking out. It features signs from former casinos. If you decide to go, buy your tickets ahead of time. They will sell out. The day we went, they were out of tickets by 2:00 pm. The guided tour takes about an hour and provides some interesting Las Vegas history.

The Neon Museum features signs from previous hotels on the Las Vegas Strip. So long Sahara!

There are rides for the amusement park lover. The LINQ casino boasts one of the tallest Ferris wheels in the world. And it is impressive, I checked it out at night and the view was unbelievable. The Stratosphere has some risky rides on the roof of their building. Plus, the New York New York has a roller coaster with a fantastic view of the south end of the strip.

As always, a drink with a view, from the LINQ High Roller.

You can shop… The bus will take you to the North Outlet mall, which is my favourite. Or, there are The Forum shops in Caesar’s Palace, this is similar the average mall at home. Orrr, higher end casinos like the Bellagio have the next level unaffordable designer things (I love the idea of a designer handbag but I have visited other countries for less than those price tags and that fact always grounds my fantasies).

For free, you can poke your head into the “Pawn Stars,” pawnshop. I was very tempted to buy something just for the sake of having something from here. Side Note: There were a lot of wedding rings here. I do not know if it is related to the amount of Las Vegas wedding chapels but doesn’t that feel like a bad omen? Clearly, the ring is there because something did not quite work out.

The Pawn Stars tv show pawn shop is located in Vegas.

The Bellagio has a free fountain show which is kind of neat.

The Bellagio Fountain show facing the Paris hotel.

There is now a NHL hockey team! My last trip to Vegas was based around my local hockey teams schedule. And it was so much fun! There was a good balance of people who shared this idea and went to support Edmonton and Las Vegas Knights fans. This made for great energy, no matter who scored or what happened there were people cheering.

Edmonton Oilers defeat Las Vegas Knights in T-Mobile arena.

Stay tuned, the Raiders are moving to Vegas. Soon you can also cheer for your favourite NFL team.

There are a variety of Cirque de Soleil shows in different hotels. We checked out Zumanity (The scandalous 18+ show ;)) and had an absolute blast. But if you want a show less provocative, there is also a Beatles tribute. You can find tickets online or through your hotel’s concierge.

Las Vegas Nightlife

Gambling aside, Las Vegas has some fancy clubs. The best way to avoid cover is to watch for club promoters. Often they will just flat out approach you and inquire about your plans for the evening. But, if you see someone near a club, wearing clothing featuring the club, there is a good chance they are promoting for that club. The exchange will include giving your full name (for the guest list) and your phone number to confirm details. This is a no catch exchange. You can get your name on the list and decide not to go at no cost to you. Some guest lists end earlier than others. For example, if Tao ends at 10:00 pm but Omnia ends at 1:00 am, you could hypothetically check out both in one night. I like to go early so that the lines are shorter and the club less brimming with people. I wish I could say that clubs are like bags of chips, more air than people, but alas they are often packed.

Too many stamps from trying to go to too many clubs.

Beware, DRINKS IN CLUBS ARE EXCEPTIONALLY EXPENSIVE. Heed my word. Arrive drunk, if that is your goal for the night.

Things to do Outside of Las Vegas

The Hoover Dam and West Rim of the Grand Canyon are both feasible visits from Vegas. I have successfully used a Groupon for a bus ride to the Grand Canyon with a distant glance at the Hoover. On a subsequent trip, my significant other and I rented a car for 1.5 days to drive ourselves there. This is a bit more of a tiring option as both of you can’t sleep on the bus but does allow some freedom. A friend of mine has done the bus, car rental, AND the helicopter tour. Of the three, she most recommends the helicopter tour so that will be my next way of seeing the Grand Canyon (There are Groupons for helicopter tours). If you decide to self-drive to the Grand Canyon leave early as the sun will leave the Canyon later in the day making it even harder to capture great photos.

The Hoover Dam tours can fill up, so look at going early or buying tickets ahead of time.

The Nevada and Arizona state line crosses through the Hoover Dam.

We also used our rental car to check out Fire Valley, located one hour away from the city, this place was absolutely stunning. I would go again tomorrow if I could. There are a variety of hikes throughout the Valley. Go early, the park closes at sunset, and in the summer the temperature will be quite high. I did not notice anywhere to buy water so bring plenty with you.Welcome to Valley of Fire State park.

View from White Domes hike in Valley of Fire State Park.

I’ve written about my love for Vegas before, and I’m sure I will again because I can almost never say no to Las Vegas. No matter what you decide to do, make the most of your time! It will fly by and casinos are designed to make you lose track of it.

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Please Note: I am not an expert; however, I volunteered for four years on my local distress line and have gained experience in this area. And you don’t need to be an expert to start the conversation. Let’s talk about suicide.

Let’s Talk About Suicide

September 10th is Suicide Prevention Day. As twenty-something millennials it is normal to feel some anguish or confusion about the future. However, there is a line between “What am I doing with my life?” and wanting to end your life. We definitely live in a culture where suicide is made light of with our language, we say things like, “If ____ happens then I’m going to just kill myself.” Or, “I’m so tired I could just die.” I am 100% guilty of doing this myself. Speaking in this way diminishes the experience that someone who is thinking of suicide might be having. It also might make it harder to recognize when someone is being serious about their thoughts.

Suicide is something that is highly stigmatized. Some families who have experienced a loss to suicide never talk about it. That loss is swept under the rug. In turn, this closes the doors for conversation if other family members are experiencing those same thoughts. However, this is tragic because simply knowing someone who has killed themselves increases risk of suicide. Talking about suicide is the only way to break down these barriers. If you are thinking about suicide you are not alone and there is help. Let’s talk about suicide and open those doors.

Photo taken in the Bushwick Collective.

Let’s Talk About You

If you are genuinely thinking about killing yourself or having thoughts of doing so even if you aren’t intending on doing it, then it is very important to get some help. There are likely professionals in your area or you can talk to your family doctor about getting help. Talking to professionals or asking for help can be very scary and intimidating. It takes a lot of courage to admit that things aren’t right and a lot of strength to seek out help. Unfortunately, when it comes to mental health issues the first person you speak to might not be helpful or supportive. This is understandably very discouraging, but please don’t give up on it if the first person you speak to isn’t helpful. You are worth everything. Keep searching until you find someone who understands.

If you find yourself in this place and are feeling alone or like no one cares, please know this is false. Often when people are experiencing suicidal thoughts they might feel this way but the reality is that there are people out there that do care.

Often times when someone is having suicidal thoughts it is less about wanting to die and more about wanting to end the pain that a person is experiencing. This pain can take many different forms and varies by the individual. Whatever pain a person is in is valid. And wanting to end that pain is normal. This life and death struggle is referred to as ambivalence. If you are experiencing pain, there are other ways of ending it.

You do not have to cross the bridge alone.

Lets Talk About Help For Others

If you suspect that someone you know is thinking about killing themselves it is okay to just ask them. You won’t plant any ideas. Make sure that you ask the question directly, “Are you thinking about killing yourself?” This opens up the door for conversation. A person who is not thinking about killing themselves will give a hard no. Someone who is may give a vague or non-answer or a just plain honest, “Yes.”

One of the reasons it’s important to have a conversation is that someone who is in that place may be experiencing perceived isolation. This is where they believe no one cares or no one would miss them if they were gone. While this is often far from the truth it is a common part of the negative spiral a person finds themselves in when they are depressed.

And please, never, ever, tell someone to, “Just get over it” or “Snap out of it.” This is more damaging than you could ever realize. And depression, suicidal thoughts or any other mental health concerns are so much more complex than this.

For when everything is not okay (Photo from Bushwick Collective).

Let’s Talk About Suicide More

Many cities have a local distress line, here are resources for Canada and USA.

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About Me

Hi, I'm Arielle and these are my adventures. I seek budget travel, good food, and authentic experiences all in the name of completing my bucket list. I love cats, books, and anything Harry Potter. You can expect to hear from me every second Tuesday with updates on my quest to complete my bucket list by 40 years old. Read More…